And some New Pictures :)

This past weekend, we had company .  Travis' brother and family came to visit from Eastern WA.  We had a blast.  A Winterhawks hockey game on Friday night, then a trip to Ikea (they had never been), swedish meatballs and then off to Multnomah Falls to hike to the top.  Here are some pictures from our adventures...

We had blinds up in our master bathroom, but they were old and discolored, so I took them down and made curtains.  I like how they turned out, but my "theme" in the bathroom is kind of beachy, so I plan to collect some shells, rocks and driftwood next time I hit the beach, which should be soon since I haven't been there in a while. :)

The new normal

A NEW POST!  Well, I figured I'd decorate this place a bit with a new entry.  Most of you  know we've moved.  If you are my friend on FB you've seen the adventures of the move, the house and all that's been going on.  If not, then I'll catch you up. :)

We got orders back to Portland...HOME.  We were so happy but had a lot of work ahead of us, as with any cross country move.  We had to house hunt from all the way over the other coast.  Travis and I flew to OR for a week.  We met up with our realtor and looked at several houses all over the county (back in Vancouver).  We didn't find a house, but we decided exactly what area we wanted to be in...back where we lived before.  Ok, so now we had an area, but still no house.  3 weeks later, I loaded up my precious van and drove all the way to WA by myself.  It was great and I realized that I probably would be content being a long haul trucker.  But I would need a mechanic with me and my darling husband who I love SO MUCH would probably drive me crazy being stuck in a truck for weeks at a time...oh well.   Baby and I made it to WA in about 4.5 days.  I think I could have done it quicker..now that I've done the trip, if I ever do it again, I'll know what I can handle.  Anyway, I drug my friend, Evonne, along with me to look at houses.  I figured it was good to have 2 pairs of eyes and different opinions.  We looked at a whole bunch of houses.  Some awesome houses in not so awesome neighborhoods.  Some not so awesome houses in awesome neighborhoods.  Finally, Travis found a house online and told me to go look at it.  The Pool House.  We went and looked at it, I even drug my old neighbor, Brian, with us to see it.  It was a nice house, nice neighborhood.  Bonus..it had a pool and hot tub..the kids were pretty tickled about that.  It is a mile down the road from our old neighborhood so we know the area really well.  I didn't LOVE the house, but it was ok.  Travis and I talked and I made another appt to go see it again.  The second time we really looked at stuff.  Or so we thought. :)  I took pictures to send to Travis and we decided to make an offer.  It was accepted and I flew back to my family in VA (after being gone for over 2 weeks).  From there, we faxed, emailed, called back to our realtor because of some issues with the stupid mortgage company the the previous owners.  After a stressful month or so, we finally owned a house in WA. :) 

We packed up our junk in VA (well, the movers packed it up), loaded it into the truck and hauled it away.  We had to stay in VA for an extra week for Sara's high school graduation, which seems weird, since I don't think I'm old enough for my BABY to have graduated high school, but whatever.  After graduation, we said good-bye to the baby girl, loaded up the other 3 vehicles and headed out on a caravan expedition.  Travis in Chuck hauling Traily, Anisa, Jason and Batman (Nisa's fishie) in Foxy, and me in Cupcake.  We planned to take it kind of easy and make it over in 5ish days, but got a phone call from the moving truck saying he had to deliver 2 days early or put our stuff in storage.  We knew that a military delivery going into storage meant a possible VERY LONG wait for our stuff, so we pushed it and made it to Vancouver in 4 days.  Hauling the trailer made our driving slower, so we did a couple of 16 hour days to make it on time.  Based on my experience from that trip, if  we ever have to make a cross-country move, I will drive all the vehicles, one at a time, by myself.  It was too stressful with Travis trying to keep up or falling back.

Anyway, we arrived and the next day got our stuff delivered.  I didn't have any time to really clean or paint the way I wanted to, so that came later.  With a house full of boxes and furniture not where it belongs, we started to try to get settled.

The bad thing about moving is you don't see the problems with the new place til you actually live in it.  The previous owners had lived  here for almost 20 years so even tho they had done some upgrades, other things had been let go.  Besides that, I'm an OCD clean freak, and saw all the dirt and grime.  I got to work scrubbing cabinets and lining shelves.  Steam cleaning carpets AROUND the boxes and furniture.  Oh, and the pool.  Yeah, it was GREEN.  It hadn't been covered the there were 2 weeks between them moving out and us moving in, so it had leaves and cotton from the trees in the filter, and lots of algae.  The rain gutter system had crushed pipes so we had to have the front yard dug up to replace the pipes and because of water issues in back, we had the backyard dug up to install a french drain.  We quickly realized we had paid a lot for a fixer upper.  doh.  We got rid of lots of junk, realized we don't have enough storage here, but have found creative places to store things. I have painted most of the house and we're just now, after about 4 months, feeling a little settled.  There are still things that need to be done, we want a new, bigger shed, I have to finish painting which includes a 25 foot ladder.  The pool still has some algae, but we're converting to chlorine (right now it's kind of "organic chemicals") and we're hoping the chlorine kills all the plant life, and besides, it's too cold to swim right now. Next year, we're planning to put in an awning over the deck so we can spend more time outside.

Life is settling down to a new normal.  Travis is back to work in Portland doing what he enjoys..inspecting ships.  And he has several guys he knows that are there.  Anisa is currently in VA trying to figure out where she wants to settle for now.  Sara is attending Aveda Cosmetology Institute in Portland.  As of last night, she has bright red hair, but she LOVES LOVES LOVES school.  I'm just trying to stay busy and not get into trouble at Fabric Depot. :)  We've already spent countless hours and tons of money at Home DEPOT. :/  But, we're super happy to be back Home.   Anyway, that's what's been going on here.  I'm going to try to be better at updated the blog, but I'm not making any promises. :)

Back in VA

Well, our trip to the Great PNW wasn't a complete success or failure. We didn't find a house, but we realized we want to be back in the same exact area we left. In fact, we'd love to be on our same street, and our old neighbor is working hard to get us there...he actually talked to one of the neighbors and they want to move, but they don't have a yard big enough to put a trailer pad on. darn.

We drove the entire county while we were there, saw some nice and not so nice homes. There were a couple that I'd LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to live in, but not the areas. Buying a house stinks. And especially when you're not willing to budge on a few wants/needs.

We had some awesome beers (um, PORTLAND...most of the beer there is awesome), spent a gorgeous day at Cannon Beach (it was supposed to be a day of showers and we didn't get a drop of rain), on our way back to Vancouver, we went through a little snow storm. Overall, the trip was good. We didn't get to visit, except one night, we went to sushi with the Hisatomi family to celebrate the March birthdays (there are 4 our the 6 of us), and I ran into Evonne and one of my Chinook kids, Porter, at Fred Meyers (we were there at least once every day). :) Yep, it rained a little every day - a lot on a day or two, but we didn't mind. It felt great to be back HOME. The air smelled wonderful. The drivers were nice. The people in Portland are still as weird as ever. It was a great trip. :) I'll post some pics later...Travis needs to use this computer for now! :)

100th Anniversary of the Cherry Blossoms

Well, we went to see the Cherry Blossoms for the last time while we live in VA. Of course, they were beautiful and fun to see. Wandering around the Tidal Basin really never gets old. I could go into the city every day and see something new and wonderful. After swearing that I would never live in DC, I have to apologize to Travis every once in a while, because I have come to love living here. Sure, it's not HOME (my heart is in Cannon Beach), but it has been a super wonderful experience. I will miss many things about DC...museums, eateries, Cherry Blossoms, Monuments, History. I won't miss the drivers and all the people who can't speak English, but whatever. :)

Anyway, yesterday we headed in to see the cherry blossoms, but also to go to Ford's Theater (where Lincoln was shot) and the National Geographic Museum (they have a Samurai exhibit that Travis wanted to see). It was a little on the hot side, but that's just cuz I like cooler weather. In a lot of peoples' minds, I'm sure it was perfect. We saw a squirrel, so I was happy. :) hahahaha Here are a few pics from the day.





















































I'm going back into DC today to meet with some Coastie Chicks. We're meeting up with a Chick who is visiting the city. We plan to look at the blooms and have lunch. Should be fun....other than the fact that it's going to be even hotter today. :( I'll post more pics later!

Charleston and Savannah trip

OMG. Ok, we just got home from our southern trip. Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA. The main goal of the trip was to see Paula Deen, my BFF. And she proved that she's my BFF...she patted me on the butt! :) highlight of the whole weekend, y'all!

Charleston and Savannah are beautiful. And the bonus was GOOD DRIVERS. :) We're surrounded by the most horrible drivers in the world here in VA. That's because all the bad drivers in the world move to the DC area. Down south, people were polite, they used their signals, they let you in if you needed to merge and had your signal on. We only got honked at once by someone who was visiting. It was so nice. AND, the people there were nice. People held the door for you. They said please, thank you and excuse me. Oh, Gosh....it was great.

We stopped into a prom dress store and Sara may have found her prom dress. You'll have to wait for pics, but the one she found is beautiful and so flattering.

I used to say I didn't like the spanish moss hanging from the trees, but this trip made me realize I really DO like it. It's just part of the beauty of the south.

The houses....ok, they were AWESOME! Mostly old and so cool. AND, Savannah is the most haunted city in America! Cool, huh? :) We didn't see any ghosts, or the movement of ghosts, but we saw lots of very nice things. The weather was perfect. It was supposed to be rainy all weekend, but we only got a few drips and then sun! The top pic is of Rainbow Row in Charleston. The lower pic is one of the MANY cute houses in the historic district of Savannah.

Saturday we took a trolley tour of the city and saw all the sites. Then Sunday, Travis dropped me off at the Lady and Sons restaurant to get in line for a wristband to get Paula, Jamie, Bobby and Aunt Peggy. What beautiful people. OMG...They were all so sweet, friendly and made us all feel like we were friends. They are just so dang nice! I can't even tell you how awesome it was to meet them. Anisa and I are going in May to the next book signing, and I'm SO.EXCITED!! This is Paula with the little girl who was standing with her Gramma and me in the line. They were all so great. Paula gave out lots and lots of hugs and compliments.

Travis did his daddy duty and took Sara to another prom dress store (same name, different location). What a guy! She found one that she liked, but I think the one she found in Charleston is still her favorite.

Today, we got up early and headed home....8 hours later, we got home safe and sound to see our Anisa. I missed my kid. Sometimes it's fun to just have one kid, but I love my girls so much. It'll be nice to sleep in my own bed tonight...which will be very soon since I got home, had dinner and a delicious beer. ;) Hope you are having a great evening wherever you are. :)

Beeyooteeful creations

I am kind of amazed sometimes when I watch Anisa cook. She doesn't do it all that often at home, mainly because we don't eat a ton of sweets and she cooks at work, so doesn't often feel like creating in our little, underpowered kitchen. But, every once in a while, she creates and I love to see how it turns out. These are the little beauties she made for our Bunco night. They are delicious. Little pink macarons filled with a creamy filling and decorated with raspberries topped with a real rose petal and a sugar dew drop. The great thing about them is they aren't super sweet. I can actually enjoy them. :) Someday she'll own her little bakery and make custom macarons...who wants one?? :) :)

What's been UP lately

Well, not a heck of a lot, but I've been staying busy. Doing what...I have no clue. :) Ok, I actually do have a tiny clue. I've been sewing a little. Working on a quilt that I have had fabric for, for years. I saw this great quilt on a website a long time ago, and bought all the fabric that I needed and then it sat there. I never got the Pattern, but in my research, have found what blocks needed to be made, and so now I'm working on it. It's not turning out how the picture looked, but that's ok, I guess. Quilts are great like that. Even if you mess up really bad, you're usually the only one who knows. :) I also made another 2 Weekender bags. One for Sara and one for my friend's 50th birthday.

The blue one is Sara's. She wanted a "Tiffany" blue bag and found these fabrics. Not the perfect blue, but she loves it so I guess that makes it perfect.

This one is Rhonda's. She didn't get to pick her fabrics. :) heehee Hey, it was a Bday present! Travis actually suggested I make her one since I couldn't think of what to get to this special bday. 50. She's an antique and I will tell her that often. hahahahah, yeah, I know I'll be 50 someday, but that's a while away. And she still looks and acts young so it's all good. :)

My next Weekender will be for Anisa since she doesn't have one yet. Poor baby. That's ok, tho. She can't go anywhere since she's a working girl now. Being grown up stinks. We're heading to Savannah this weekend and she couldn't get the time off, so she has to stay home. We're planning to go (Just the mom and kid) in May, tho, so that will make up for it. Paula Deen is doing a book signing gig at her restaurant on Monday, so we're mainly going for that. Sara has Monday off of school for President's Day, so this works out really great. Pictures and an update will be coming soon. :) After the trip...heehee

Anisa just got back from WI. She was gone 3 weeks and it flew by. It's sometimes nice to just have an only child. She had fun. Now she's trying to decide if she'll move back to WI or go back to Portland with us. We think she should go back to Portland (duh), mainly because there are gonna be more job opportunities for her, but she has to decide on her own. I hate watching her have to decide. I know how she feels....anxious to get out there an conquer the world ON.HER.OWN, but also being scared. She'll figure it out and make it however she needs to.

Tonight I am hosting Bunco. So, I must get off the computer and start cooking the chicken. I'm making chicken enchiladas....mmmmm! Anisa's making her famous macarons with a fruity twist. Those pics will come soon too! :) I hope you all have a fabulous day. :) mwah!

Craftiness

I finished my Weekender and I.LOVE.IT! I will definitely be making more of this bag. It was challenging, but not too bad. I want to take a trip now, so I can use it. :) It took me about 3 days of working on for a little bit here and there. I think if I had a whole day, I could whip one out now since I kinda know what to do...with this one, I actually had to read the instructions. I wasn't going to do the cording, since I was a little scared since I had read other blogs that said it was really hard, but I found it to be more time consuming than hard. I was also unsure about all the interfacing and stabilizers, but that wasn't too bad, either.

For anyone who does this bag, just give yourself time. Definitely use a heavy duty needle (I didn't break any needles or bend any pins, although, a lot of time I didn't even use pins.....I hate pinning).

I made a couple of pockets on the inside which was something not on the pattern, but other chicks had done it, and I liked the idea. I showed Sara and she wants one. We are gonna make a dress together, but once that is done, I might take her out to pick out fabrics for her own bag.

Here is Anisa's Camo Purse. She found a purse that she really liked, and we came home and figured out a pattern and made this. It's a little bigger and bulkier than I had thought it would be, but it was a perfect bag for her to take to WI...she loaded that thing up! :) She is REALLY happy with it, and has gotten lots of compliments on it. Yep, she's a redneck. :)

The most important part of today, tho, is it's ANISA'S 21ST BIRTHDAY!!! I can't believe that I have a 21 year old kid. That's just so weird. She had mixed feelings about not being home for her birthday, but ultimately decided to go spend her birthday in WI. We went to dinner at Chevy's for her birthday dinner. The next day (yesterday) we went to the airport and off she flew on a plane with a buffalo on the tail. :) Of course, at midnight she started drinking, but I talked to her this morning and she said she didn't feel great, but she's alive. :) Dumb kids. I told her just don't be driving with anyone who's been drinking...I hope she listens.

So, today, I plan to spend time with Sara who loves being an only child. We're gonna work on her dress, I hope. We cut out the pattern and now have to cut out the fabric. As soon as we're done, I'll be posting on that...It's satiny fabric and chiffon. I've never worked with either fabric, so it'll be very interesting, but I'm on a Challenge Kick.... :) I hope you all have a great day and challenge yourself with something fun! :) mwah!

First Post of 2012

Well, it's a couple of weeks into the new year, but Happy New Year. I have been busy with, um, well, I don't know, but I'm sure it was something important. :) I've gotten a little bit of sewing done. Anisa and I found some Camo canvas a while back in a remnant so we bought it figuring we'd made a purse or something out of it. Then, I found some cotton fabric that she likes to line it with. I didn't take a picture of it yet, but will have to post one later. She found this purse that she loved, we figured out a pattern and made it. It turned out really cute. A little bigger than we both thought, but she likes it so I'm happy.

I bought these fabrics to start making Amy Butler's Weekender bag. Happy Zombie made it, and of course, she inspires me so I had to buy the pattern. heehee I cut the fabric out a couple of days ago, working on the interfacing hopefully this morning then I can get to sewing soon. I'm VERY anxious to get this done, since everyone that has done it, LOVES it. It's a challenge, but I'm up for it. :)

I also made this bag for my mom. She had another tote that she loved and used the heck out of. It finally died (I think the strap broke). When she came to visit for my birthday, we hit one of my new favorite fabric stores in NJ...J and O Fabrics. Awesome selection of novelty fabrics. Anyway, I found the fabrics for this bag there, and she asked if I'd make her a bag out of them. I said SURE and used HZ's pattern to make it. I love that pattern. I love the fabrics. Mom loves her bag. :)

Travis and I are slowly getting back into jogging. :) I'm not saying running since we're going pretty slow cuz we're out of shape. We jog/walked on the Bull Run Trail a week ago which was super fun. We went in about 3 miles, then back. It's VERY hilly, which is good and challenging. We have a goal on a nice weekend to jog walk from the top of the trail to the bottom end. It's about 18 miles total. We'll pack a little lunch and do it in a day. We just want to see the whole trail.

My cell phone finally bit the dust yesterday. It's been a while coming since I've dropped the poor little thing a few times. Anyway, I was forced to get a new phone. Unfortunately for the people at Verizon, I still refuse to buy a "smart" phone (which I don't think there's anything smart about). I got a nice little basic PHONE. I use it to call people and text. I don't need a camera on my phone. I have a camera. I don't need a GPS...I have maps. I don't need to read my email on my phone...it's a PHONE for goodness sake. Ok, that's my vent. I got a little LG Octane. I like it so far, but I have to get used to the keyboard. I hate change. Oh well. I also got to go to Trader Joes, so that was a little bonus. :) It's not far from here, but it's in a shopping center that I don't usually get to just because TJ's is the only store there that I like.

So, that's about all my latest news. Sara and I are making a dress for her. We cut out the pattern pieces, and I ironed the fabrics. It should be interesting since it's a silky under dress and a chiffon top layer. I've never worked with either fabric cuz of how crazy slippery they are. I'll post about that when we start...wish us luck! :)

Last post of 2011

I know it's not the last day of the year, but I've been such a slacker, I don't expect to make another post in the next day or two...sooooo, this is my non-official last post of 2011. I'm choosing to call it non-official in case I surprise myself and log on tomorrow or Sunday! :) hahahah

So, we celebrated Christmas just the 4 of us, like I like it. I like getting up really late, staying in my jammies all day, eating whenever I feel like cooking and just chillin'. We had to wake the kids up at about 9:30 since they were OUT. Travis was quite involved in the laying out of gifts. He bought Sara a guitar and wanted to make sure she didn't see it before she actually got out to the living room. He's pretty cute. :) The girls got spoiled, as usual. Nisa didn't get a guitar, but she got money for her Wisconsin trip next month. Sara got Uggs, Nisa got dishes - plates and bowls for when she moves out. :) It was a good day. We had a simple ham dinner and thanked God for sending Jesus. Watched some tv, then after a wonderful day, went to bed early. :) Perfect.

My timeline here is a little backward, I just realized, but I'm going to tell you about Nisa's graduation which was Dec. 14. :) She actually graduated in Aug, but they only have one ceremony a year, so she walked in Dec. She was all cute in her official Pastry chef uniform and her pretty blue Magna Cum Laude cords. She met up with her sweet friends and off they went, giggling and being crazy. The ceremony was nice, and we even got to see friends who we've known since Santa Barbara (their son graduated too). We're so proud of her. She still loves her job at Swiss Bakery. She doesn't love getting up early, but likes getting home early.

She's also discovered that she loves Bass Pro Shop. We went up to the one near Baltimore the other day and she went crazy. about 90% of the people in there had camo on. She was a happy girl. My little redneck girl. She got some cam flannel sheets, a can koozie, and looked at and almost drooled on the knives and guns. Oh, and the boats and 4-wheelers. :)

Yes, then there's Sara. Sara is Sara. Going to school, sleeping, spending time with her friends, Younglife, church group, and TONS OF TIME playing her guitar. She's learning lots of new songs. We love to hear the music coming from her room. She also still loves learning new make-up tricks and hair styling things. Who knows...maybe someday she will be doing make-up to the stars. :) Although, I'd rather see her be happy in Portland or Seattle. We'll see.

I mentioned to a friend that Sara had been sick EVERY Christmas. She asked if we had a live tree, and said Sara might be allergic to it....ugh! It makes perfect sense. She's sick.. . LITERALLY..every Christmas. So, this year may have been our last Real Christmas tree. Dang. Anisa and I looked for a fake tree the day after Christmas, but they were all gone. Too bad they have sales for months leading up to Christmas so the after Christmas sales aren't that great. Stupid stores ruined my "day after" shopping days. The day after Thanksgiving sales aren't good cuz they are open on Thanksgiving.....I miss the old days when stores were closed on holidays. jerks.

On to happier items. We have red house finches bedding in our tree at night and we love it. Every evening at dusk, they sit on our deck until it's time to go into their little sleep tree. Then, between 5 and 7 a.m. they get up and sing their sweet songs on the deck or trees around. Man, I love birds, and squirrels! :) heehee

Our winter has been very warm. Today it's supposed to get into the 50s again. Next week, they say it'll get into the 30s. We'll see. No snow at all this winter which makes me sad.

My mom came up for my birthday and so we decided to take a trip to New York to see my cousin and go pub hopping. We had a blast. April's friend, Laurie met us in the city and we had a really great time at a pub called McSorleys. Very fun bar, very fun people, yummy beer. We also cruised through New York City in the car which April said was better than walking cuz we were warm and we covered A LOT of area. :) All the stores were decorated for Christmas so it was very pretty and bright.

If you want to look at my pics, you can view them on shutterfly. :)

Things to report

Well, it's been a little while since I've written, but not as long as some of the times I've gone with no reports. There are a few things in the Nolen family that have happened recently. Here goes...

Sara has had a bit of a dilemma. She says she has lost her passion for dance, at least on the team, so she made up her mind to quit the dance team. On Oct 20, she faced the coaches and told them her decision. It was hard for her, but she handled it like an adult and is happy about her choice. She has gotten to hang out with friends who she didn't get to hang out with while on the team because of the huge time commitment for DT and is even planning to go on a church retreat. She loves her DT family and will always treasure her memories of her time on the team, but this year is a new chapter. She's a senior and wants to make it spectacular. She's actually gonna enjoy her first long weekend this week coming up. Mon and Tues are days off of school, and normally we'd be at Dance Camp, but not this year. We might even make a trip to NY to see April and Chris....and MAC, Macy's, Times Square, Lady Liberty...... :) She's a lot less stressed and even got a B+ on her math test (she's not a math girl, and struggles with it, so this is awesome news. :)). Now, my reaction is more sadness. I didn't quit the team, and I think they need me! :) heehee Actually, I've been working on bags to sell as a fundraiser at the end of this month, so I'll still be kinda involved. Plus, I still work with Tammy and talk to Dianna every day (DT moms), so I'm still in the loop. I even told them I could still chaperone for Nationals. We'll see! :) Here she is with some friends on their way to an away football game. They had a "white out", that's why they are dressed in white (trash bags). They had lots of fun..
As many of you also have heard, we got snow on the 29th. Yeah, it came down, but nothing stuck cuz the ground was pretty warm and it was rainy along with the snow, but you can see that we got big flakes coming down. It sure was pretty. It's been cold lately, and it seems like it went from HOT to COLD real quick. I guess that's usually how it seems to go around here. We go from air conditioning to heat. Poor little heat pump. :) heehee
Last night was Halloween. 35 bucks worth of candy and not many kids. Dang. Now, I have a ton of candy in the house. Guess we better keep running to work it off. :) Now, if I can just stay motivated and work out time to go. Well, stop making excuses, that's what I need to do. :) Sara and some of her friends went out trick or treating for a bit after they went and got $2 booritos at Chipotle. Those crazy burritoholics. :) Here are the girls....We went out and took some pics hoping to start on our Christmas letter/card/pic for this year. I'm saving the family pics for the card, but here are my beautiful girls. I just love them so much. :) Especially when they're being sweet. :) heehee We had fun and wanted to at least get some pics with the fall colors. The trees are so confused this year with the weird weather we've had, so the colors didn't seem to be as vibrant as normal, but they are still really pretty. This was at Mercer Lake right here by our house. We even saw some little tiny fishies. Yeah, Anisa has taken up fishing. Her friends like to fish, so they go her "hooked". She went and bought a fishing pole and even a little tackle box with hooks, bobbers, and all that stuff. She wants to make a trip to Bass Pro Shop soon. We like to tease her about it, but she doesn't care. She likes to go out with her friends and fish. Crazy kids.I'm working on making bags, and today I'm going to work at Tammy's. She's got a lot of events and baskets to make and get ready for. Her business is taking off and I'm so proud of my friend. For those of you who I don't normally talk to, Tammy is one my Dance Mom friends, who has a gift basket business. She quit her full-time job to get her business running again (she's a single mom, so this was a GIGANTICALLY HUGE step). Anyway, the girl is on fire getting all kinds of new accounts with some big companies. I hope she makes it big. Oh, here's her website in case you want to check it out...Talk Of the Town Gifts....we ship anywhere in the country! :) I'll put extra love in any basket you want! :) heehee This is a picture of a luncheon she did for NEW - Networking Executive Women. Mali, the speaker of the day was awesome. Check out her book, A Million Fireflies. This woman has been through some crazy stuff in her life, starting with her family fleeing their home in Laos in the middle of the night when she was just 4. If you want to be inspired, get the book. :)As usual, you can click on any picture to make it bigger. :) So, now you've been updated. Hope you all have a spectacular day. Love and kisses!! :)

Working girl

Anisa finally got herself a big girl job. :) She is now an employee of The Swiss Bakery in Springfield, VA. :) She's kind of a "floater" right now and doing a little bit of anything they need. She's made ice cream, delivered goods to the Burke store, made cookies and stocked the store and freezer. She likes the job, but is still getting used to having to get up and go to work. She commented that she hopes she gets a day off soon because she's so tired...well, she's on her 4th day of work.....welcome to adulthood my precious child. :) It kinda sucks, but when she gets that paycheck, she's gonna be happy.


















How did this all happen, you ask? Well, after she graduated school, we kept telling her she needed to get out there and find a job. I had found the Swiss Bakery a long time ago and she even was referred there by one of her chefs at school. She had an interview a couple of weeks ago at a fancy french bakery in DC, but the owner interviewed her and she said she thought maybe English is his second language because she could barely understand him. She was not excited about getting a job there, but knew it would be good experience. Luckily after a few not returned calls by the bakery, she gave up. I kept bugging her to download the application from Swiss Bakery and just turn it in. She finally did and went into the Burke store and the very sweet manager there told her the owner was in Switzerland and she does the interviews. She'd be back by the weekend. Well, sure enough, Monday morning Anisa got an email asking if she could come in for an interview on Wed. She replied ABSOLUTELY. She was SO nervous and went in (I sat in the car waiting for her since we had errands to run before and after AND to give her that mommy support). About 45 minutes later, she returned and said she had a "stage" (working for free to see how things work) scheduled for Thursday. She had to be there at 8:00 a.m. and didn't know when she'd be done. I kept expecting a text from her telling me she was on her way home (I was working at Tammy's). Well, she just showed up at Tam's with a smile on her face. She said she had fun, was really tired, but they liked her so much, that instead of working for free, she was hired AND getting paid for Thursday. :) Since then she's had three 8-hour days. Today is her 4th day. Yesterday and today she had to be there by 7 a.m. Not super early in the Bakery world, but SUPER DUPER early in Anisa's world. We're pretty proud of her, and are trying to be supportive and understanding when she's tired and wants a day off. We tell her we know, and sorry that she's tired, but this is what adults have to do. Growing up stinks sometimes, but there are good things too...like a PAYCHECK. :)

Happy stuff :)

Lots has been going on and I have been slacking getting this updated. Here goes...

Dance Team has been taking up some of our time. After the whole AGT thing, the team is getting back into the swing of the season. Homecoming is this week, so the team will perform at a school pep assembly, and the game and will be walking in the parade. It looks like the weather will be good. They were asked to perform at the Field of Screams this past weekend. It was pretty fun, even tho Sara and a few others HATE scary things...I know, strange that their theme is pretty much scary. :)
Biggest thrill? Deep Fried Oreos and Twinkies. :)
They also held a 2-day dance camp for littles. The DT taught the kids a routine and then the littles got to perform at a football game. The campers were so excited to perform and did a great job. I've been doing a little bit of shopping for the Homecoming performance (which I LOVE- shopping with other people's money - hee hee).

Renee was in town last week staying with friends down in Stafford, so i went to spend a couple of days with her and the kids and friends. :) It was fun, but it stinks that she's all the way in TX now. I guess it's ok, tho, since I'll get to see some of Texas when I go see her! :) We took the kids to Build A Bear. They had a blast.














Today, Anisa has a job interview at Swiss Bakery. We're super excited and hope she gets the job...for lots of reasons, but we think it will be an awesome experience and the people who own/work there are very nice. :)

F U CF!

I am sitting here so totally heartbroken for one of my dear friends. I just found out that in February of this year, Joe's body was done fighting CF and he went Home to live with the Lord.

I met this sweet lady in the late 80s when I subbed for her at work while she went off and got married (to a Coastie). I didn't really know her when I took the job, but we got to know each other and became FRIENDS. She is a person who would do anything for anyone. Super sweet.

In January of 1992 she gave birth to her precious son Joe. What a treasure he was to his mom and dad. He was such a little cutie guy. He was perfect in every way, but one....he was born with Cystic Fibrosis. CF if a genetic disease that affects the lungs and pancreas. I only know about this stupid disease, because my little brother was born with it. I wish I didn't know what it was. I wish it didn't exist.

As a Christian, there are things that I just don't understand but I trust that God has life taken care of, but I don't have to like parts of this life. I hate that there is disease, I hate that there is deep heartache. I love that He takes care of us when we are broken. He takes care of us when we hit the bottom and we have no way of getting up without His help. Joe was a Christian guy. I know where he is right now, and that makes me smile. He is not suffering any more. There are no more pills. No more hospital visits. No more needles.

I'm the most sad for my friend, Wende. I don't think I can even come close to imagining what she's had to go through this year. I'm thankful that she knows the Lord and will continue to look to Him for strength. I also know, that because of who she is, she has a lot of people to love and support her.

This is a sad post, and I apologize, but the main point of it is to ask you all for your prayers for Wende and Jerry and everyone who was touched by Joe's special life. I also would like to ask for prayers for my brother, Blake and another friend, Matt, who has CF and all the families affected by this stupid disease.

College?? Psha...she's DONE!

Well, Anisa is now a certified Pastry Chef. She has her AA degree in Pastry and Baking. It's weird to think that I have a baby who is now done with one degree (she's not sure what's next).

On Wed, 9-21-11, we trecked into the city to the Building Museum for her Portfolio Show. All the graduates show off what they have learned/what they do. Some have their AA, some have finished their BA. There are culinary students, graphic artists, musicians, video artists....a little bit of everything artsy. :)

The day actually started on Tuesday. Anisa had to go into school to make her desserts. She chose to make french macarons. Macarons are actually like little puff cookies with a frosting-ish center. Lots of people know of the coconut macarOOns, but those are not the traditional french cookie. Macarons can be made of almost any flavor combination you want. She chose to make Orange Creamsicle (by Daddy's request), Lemon-Lime, and Raspberry. There is an exact method to making macarons (I found this blog and it tells an adorable story of making them and how they are so temperamental). The humidity in the air has to be just right, the batter has to be beaten just right, the oven temp has to be just right...there are many many ways to ruin the little cookies, and only a couple of ways to make them perfectly. They have to have a perfect "foot", and a perfectly domed little top. I'm so proud of my baby who made very nice looking and tasting french macarons...I didn't know she had it in her! :)So, on Wed, we drove into DC in rush hour traffic. Our normally 20-30 minute drive became an hour long stop and go fest. Luckily we had Toby Keith, Jason Aldean and Blake Shelton to keep us company. Plus, we can always find stuff to talk about, other drivers to talk smack about, etc. :) We arrived at the Building Museum right on time. Anisa ran in to find her table and we started unloading. Luckily, her table was right between her 2 good friends from school, Shakyla and Sama'Ria.The idea of the Portfolio show (from what I can understand) is to basically show what they've made in their Capstone class. She had to "build" a bakery from the ground up. She had to find a property, shop for it - ovens, counters, sinks, tables, lamps, display cases, etc. then come up with her total business plan. She chose to name her "bakery" CRUMBS. She came up with her menu and logo. We had shopped and I had sewn for this event. We ran to Joann's and found some cute fabric to make her a tablecloth and a cute little apron. We hit the Container Store and found some little spice racks to display her little macarons. Target was where we found her little 3-tier dessert holder. Then off to Michaels for flowers and ribbon. She was set. Didn't really know what to expect once we got to the show, but her table turned out to be one of the most decorated/pretty tables. :) I helped her get her stuff inside, then headed home to get Travis. It only took me half hour to get home. :)Travis and I headed BACK into DC, found parking and went into the show. There were potential employers, teachers from the school and of course, friends and family. It was fun to see all the other chefs/artists and what they made. We walked around, tasted some of the other foods, looked at the art and listened to music. We chatted with some of the other students then went upstairs to watch our baby at work. We watched as people would stop at her table and she would explain her business and desserts. We really enjoyed seeing people's reactions to her macarons. As one of the chefs took a bite, we saw him nod his head positively. She smiled and chatted and just looked cute. :)She said she was nervous about the whole show, but when it was all finally over and done, she was disappointed that it was over. I was amazed to look through her portfolio to see all the work she had done to "build" her bakery. It was one of those "Wow, I didn't realize my kid could do something like that", proud mommy moments. Of course, I'm proud of my kids, they're awesome (except for those times when they're being little turds, but that's normal). But sometimes they do stuff that still shocks me. God really did give me some GOOD girls. I'm gonna really enjoy watching them as they become productive citizens....and I hope you all can enjoy some of Anisa's sweets someday. :)

Some of my latest stuff

Well, I've been a little busy crafting lately. Lots of fabric, but not lots of quilts. BAGS! Yep, some might call me a bag lady, but it's just a phase. :) (*click on the pics to make them big).

It started when Sara needed a cosmetic bag for her AGT adventure. I looked at patterns/tutorials on the internet for a little bag that was easy to make. I found this awesome tutorial. I tried it and I.LOVE.IT! It's SO SUPER EASY and fast to make these little bags. I've made about 5 or 6 of them, since Sara's friends have seen them and have wanted them. Plus, my kids needed them. Oh, and btw, we ended up finding a Vera Bradley bag for Sara for her bigger stuff, but she uses her little cupcake bag for smaller things. :) Here's one of the little cupcake bags I did and one with Hello Kitty. Not loving the handles on the cupcake bag, but since I made this one, I've managed to perfect the handles. :)










While scanning through the tutuorials, I found this incredibly cute site/pattern. I made the little lunch bag cuz I liked the idea of it (it's the second tutorial down on the right side of her blog). After I made it, it was sitting around and I thought I'd better take it to LA in case I couldn't use my Eddie Bauer little backpack/purse (we were told we couldn't have any logo gear in the audience). This was THE.PERFECT.BAG for my sudoku book, The Help (which is a great book, go get it and read it), and lots of snacks (I was the snack mom). I put some iron-on vinyl inside in case any liquids spilled, but probably won't do that again. It's too crunchy. Anyway, here are 2 of them that I made...the purple one is the one I took to LA, the sushi one is on it's way to it's new home. :)

I also made this little pyramid/teepee bag that I found here. I like this tutorial, but I wish it was all on one page (you have to click on NEXT to see the next step). Oh well. I use it for my little tylenol, advil, pepto bismol, etc that I keep in my purse. :)

Another project that I've had in my brain for a while is a WSDT waterproof blanket for the cold, rainy, wet football games that we will be sitting through, starting this Friday night. This is the official logo of the team for now. Coach J made it and it's now on everything. :) heehee Anyway, this is just one of the tied fleece blankets, but I sewed on the logo made of silver metallic fabric, BUT inside, I sewed that rubberized flannel (you know the kind they make baby mattress covers out of). So, now when Sara sits on the damp, metal, freezing bleachers, she won't get wet OR freezing. :) It's THICK and HEAVY! But, I like it and I'm sure it will get lots of use and Sara will have lots of people huddling around her to snuggle in it.

So, now for the non-crafty picture. I found this while we were at Michael's yesterday and had to buy them. They're good, but I had to have them cuz of the name. :) heehee

Why were we at Michaels you ask? Well, Anisa will be all done with her AA degree in Baking and Pastry tomorrow. Today she will be cooking macarons all day at school, then tomorrow she'll present them to employers, chefs and family/friends. It's part of her capstone class. She had to "build" her bakery from the ground up. this is the final presentation, so yesterday we spent the day shopping for the last minute display items she needed. I will make a whole post on that after her presentation with pictures and everything. Of course, we're super proud of our girl. Now, she just needs to get a job! :)